ACTIVATED CARBON FILTER MEDIA/KG

Carbon for the aquarium is a form of carbon that is usually made from bituminous coal, lignite or wood. The primary use of activated carbon or AC is to filter the aquarium water of foul odours, yellowing compounds (DOC) and to remove medications from the water column.

Activated carbon comes in various shapes and sizes and not at all activated carbon is equal. The most common shapes are granules and pellets. There are powder forms as well, but those are not used in aquariums. Super carb is super activated carbon in pellet form for absorbing a variety of polluting substances: medicinal and organic pollutants, pesticides, toxins and excrements, thus making the water clean and crystal clear

Factors that affect the performance of activated carbon are

Molecular weight:
As the molecular weight increases, the activated carbon adsorbs more effectively because the molecules are lea soluble in water. However, the pore structure of the carbon must be large enough to allow the molecules to migrate within. A mixture of high and low molecular weight molecules should be designed for the removal of the more difficult species.

pH:
Most organics are less soluble and more readily adsorbed at a lower pH. As the pH increases, removal decreases. A rule of thumb is to increase the size of the carbon bed by twenty percent for every pH unit above neutral (7.0).

Particle size:
Activated carbon is commonly available in 8 by 30 mesh (largest), 12 by 40 mesh (most common), and 20 by 50 mesh (finest). The finer mesh gives the best contact and better removal, but at the expense of higher pressure drop. A rule of thumb here is that the 8 by 30 mesh gives two to three times better removal than the 12 by 40, and 10 to 20 times better kinetic removal than the 8 by 30 mesh.

Temperature:
Higher water temperatures decrease the solution viscosity and can increase die diffusion rate, thereby increasing adsorption. Higher temperatures can also disrupt the adsorptive bond and slightly decrease adsorption. It depends on the organic compound being removed, but generally, lower temperatures seem to favor adsorption.